Ahmad Al Shaikh signs off on final arrangements for shooting of the fourth sequel of the Hollywood blockbuster

As part of Dubai’s final preparations to host the shoot of the latest instalment of 'Mission: Impossible, Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaikh, Director General of the Dubai Government Media Office, met this week with movie star Tom Cruise, director Brad Bird and senior cast, crew, and officials from Paramount in the Czech capital, Prague. The meeting saw the signing-off of the final arrangements, facilities and locations in Dubai.

It's Mission Possible for Tom Cruise in Dubai

The meeting in Prague was attended by Jamal Al Sharif, Director of Dubai Studio City, in addition to officials from a number of companies participating in this project. The meeting comes ahead of the film crew’s move to Dubai, where 400 people including actors, cameramen, technicians, and stunt specialists will be landing in the emirate.

The crew will spend nearly three weeks in Dubai shooting major scenes for the fourth episode of Mission: Impossible. The first three instalments of the extremely successful action movie series accumulated global revenues of $1.4 billion.

During the meeting with Paramount officials and lead actors, Al Shaikh once again reiterated Dubai’s welcome and pleasure at hosting this impressive production, repeating that Dubai is sparing no effort to encourage creativity and talent in all fields. He further assured the film crew in Prague that all Government of Dubai departments involved in the project have completed all preparations necessary having mobilised the necessary resources to ensure the success of their mission.

"While supporting culture and the arts, the emirate pays special attention to the film industry.” said Al Shaikh, “Cinema is a powerful medium capable of building bridges between people and cultures. The importance of Cinema lies in its universal appeal.”

Al Shaikh said Dubai was committed to providing top-end facilities to ensure that the outcome would match both Dubai’s standards and the vision of the film’s directors. Dubai will facilitate shooting in various locations having secured the cooperation of concerned authorities from both the public and the private sectors.

The efforts of various government entities will combine to provide their support. Those included, but not limited to, are Dubai Police, Civil Defence, the Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Air Wing, Health Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Customs -- all of which have agreed to cooperate in creating the right atmosphere for the shoot and to provide the necessary support to meet the needs of the crew in all phases of filming.

For his part, Jamal Al Sharif, Director of Dubai Studio City, expressed his joy at Dubai being chosen amongst a few other global cities that will feature in the fourth instalment of Mission: Impossible. Al Sharif said “Dubai’s choice as a major location is due to various elements of strength that have played in its favour.” He also stressed the importance of this step in “enhancing the confidence of the international film industry in Dubai, and the emirate’s affirmation as a regional hub for film production."

Al Sharif explained: “Dubai’s state of the art infrastructure and its various attractions distinguish it from other cities. Add to this a series of specific initiatives adopted by Dubai in the past ten years to enhance its filmmaking industry. This has helped it consolidate its position as the new hub for film in the region able to host major movie projects."

In 2008, film director Brad Bird, who is currently working on the set in Prague, won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for Ratatouille. While the film’s lead actor and star Tom Cruise, was nominated for three Oscars and won three Golden Globes in his illustrious 20-year career. Paula Patton and Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner are also part of the star-studded cast.

Dubai’s mission to be at the centre of the film industry in the GCC has seen it launch a series of important initiatives in the past decade. At the forefront of such initiatives is Dubai Studio City, which was built to attract international film projects that seek to take advantage of new film locations around the world.

Dubai also launched the Dubai International Film Festival in 2004, which in its short history quickly positioned itself on the international stage as a world-class festival. The Dubai International Film Festival has premiered a large number of films and hosted some of the world’s best-loved actors and filmmakers.

Dubai’s landscape features beautiful natural beaches and deserts, as well as some of the most impressive man-made attractions and mega projects like Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Al Arab hotel, the world’s only seven star hotel, and Meydan the largest horse racing track in the world.